After winning the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai last Sunday and taking the lead in the drivers' series - although equal on points with Fernando Alonso - Michael Schumacher said the title would probably be decided at the last race, in Brazil on Oct. 22.

But Schumacher could take the title at the Japanese Grand Prix this Sunday. If Schumacher wins and Alonso fails to score a point, Schumacher will be champion.

Alonso could still draw level again on points if he won in Brazil and Schumacher failed to score there, but Schumacher would be champion because he has won more races this season and victories are the tiebreaker.

Schumacher has won the race in Suzuka six times, while Alonso has never won there . And the drivers' title has been decided at 10 of the 19 races that have taken place at Suzuka.

For many, this means the loss of one of Formula One's greatest tracks, a favorite of most of the drivers.

"Suzuka is a very challenging drivers' circuit and one of the 'old school' circuits like Spa, Monza, Silverstone and Interlagos - it is certainly one of my favorites," said Rubens Barrichello, a driver at Honda, which owns the circuit. Barrichello won at Suzuka in a Ferrari in 2003.

The track was built in 1962 as a test circuit and designed by John Hugenholtz, a Dutchman who also designed the Zandvoort and Jarama circuits. It was the first international circuit in Japan and it is the only figure-eight track in Formula One. With its 16 turns and rolling landscape over 5.8 kilometers, or 3.6 miles, a lap of the track resembles one the rides in the adjacent fairground for Honda employees.

"Suzuka is probably one of the most demanding circuits for the combination of driver and machine - both mechanically and aerodynamically and with the engine," said Patrick Tambay, a former Formula One driver who has raced at both Fuji and Suzuka.

"Especially the two double right-handers at the bottom, then after that the snake going uphill, with the two 90 degrees after, then the hairpin, 'the spoon,' 180 degrees - there are many very difficult corners."

It has served as a training ground for many future Formula One competitors, from Japanese drivers like Takuma Sato and Sakon Yamamoto, who attended the circuit's racing school, to Ralf Schumacher and Pedro de la Rosa, who raced in Japanese series before joining Formula One.

Ronnie Quintarelli, 27, an Italian who has been racing in Formula 3 and Formula Nippon in Japan since 2003 and who tested the Spyker MF1 Formula One car two weeks ago explained another reason drivers like the circuit - and why it might affect the outcome of the championship this weekend.

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"Suzuka for me is the most beautiful circuit in the world," said Franck Lagorce, a former Formula One driver who also raced at Fuji. "Suzuka is a never-ending challenge. It's a bit too bad because Fuji is not really as interesting."

Tambay said the move to Fuji had nothing to do with the quality of the track but was part of a trend within countries with Grands Prix of battles between circuits to host the race.

The Hockenheim and Nurburgring tracks are fighting for the German Grand Prix, while Imola and Monza are battling for the race in Italy.

"In the meantime, there are also many countries on a waiting list for a race," he said. "So it shows that Formula One interests entrepreneurs for constructing circuits, interests countries to hold them, interests cities for the media presence, and is therefore an important economy."

The change to Fuji represents the victory of one of the racing teams against another, as

'It's one of the circuits where drivers can make the difference.'

Fuji is owned by Toyota - Honda's rival on the track and in business.

Toyota spent ¥20 billion, or $170 million, from September 2002 to last year renovating the Fuji circuit with the help of Hermann Tilke, who renovated or designed many of the other modern Formula One tracks.

The track is also closer to Tokyo, and the circuit promoters said they expect 140,000 spectators for the race - although Suzuka has claimed sell-out crowds of 160,000 in recent years.

Pascal Dro, the editor in chief of the French motor racing daily AutoHebo, prefers to see the bright side of the change. He pointed out that the old Fuji track's history is also part of Formula One and that it provided two exceptional races.

One, he pointed out, was the remarkable debut of Gilles Villeneuve in 1977. That, however, ended in tragedy when the Canadian driver's Ferrari collided with Ronnie Peterson's Tyrrell, and the Ferrari went off the track and killed two people.

"And then there was the crowning of James Hunt against Niki Lauda under the rain," Dro said of the race 30 years ago this year. "And that was like one of the greatest pieces of Molière."

Although Mario Andretti won the race, it was remembered for the battle for the drivers' title. Lauda started the race with three points more in the championship than Hunt, but the Austrian abandoned after two laps because of the dangerous conditions.

Hunt had to finish fourth or better to win the title. Although he finished third, he was in such a fury over a disagreement with his team about his final pit stop that he was unaware even after leaving his car of his position and that he had won the title by one point.

"We had two extraordinary races there in the 1970s," said Dro, "so why not again now?"